again,” Carolyn said.
“I’ve never tried to show up anybody,” Phyllis said.
Juliette held up her hands and said, “We’re getting off the track here. Mrs. Porter told me again that she didn’t kill her husband, and I believe her. Now, don’t take this the wrong way, but what have the three of you been doing all day?”
Carolyn’s eyes widened. “Oh . . . my . . . God. Now you’re asking
us
for our alibis?”
“You can’t be serious,” Phyllis said to Juliette.
“I’m just trying to nail down all the facts I possibly can,” Juliette explained. “I’ll be asking the same questions of everyone who has any connection to the case.”
“Well . . .” Phyllis shrugged. “I guess that sounds reasonable.”
Carolyn’s “Hmmph!” made it clear that she wasn’t going to go that far.
“I’ve been right here in the house all day,” Sam said. “Well, either in the house or out in the garage. And I’m pretty doggone sure that Phyllis and Carolyn have been, too.”
“That’s right,” Carolyn said. “We haven’t gone anywhere. We’re each other’s alibis.”
Juliette looked at Phyllis. “Mrs. Newsom? Is that true?”
Phyllis nodded and said, “It certainly is. I don’t suppose any of us can actually prove that we’ve been here without relying on the testimony of the other two, but that’s what happened.”
“That’s good enough for me,” Juliette said, “and I think it would be for any reasonable person, too. We can move on.”
“What should we do about the bail hearin’?” Sam asked.
“I’ll call you in the morning as soon as I find out when it will be. I’d be ready to come down to the courthouse right away, if I were you.”
“We will be,” Phyllis promised.
“That’s all any of us can do tonight,” Juliette went on as she stood up. “But if you think of anything that might be helpful, anything you’ve seen or heard that might indicate someone else had a reason to want Roy Porter dead, please call me. You’ve got my cell phone number.”
“Isn’t it obvious that someone else wanted Roy dead?” Carolyn asked. “Someone killed him, and we know Eve didn’t.”
“But you don’t have a defense except for creating reasonable doubt, do you?” Phyllis said to Juliette. “You have to point the finger of suspicion at someone else.”
Juliette’s voice and expression were grim as she said, “Without an alibi and with Eve’s fingerprints on the murder weapon, a weapon that a number of people can identify as belonging to her, we’re not going to prevail on the merits of the evidence. I’m sorry, but there’s no getting around that.”
Sam said, “What you mean is, you need to find the real killer.”
“Well, that would be nice, but I’d settle for some big, fat reasonable doubt in the minds of some of the jurors.” Juliette looked at Phyllis. “So I’m definitely not saying that you need to conduct your own investigation, Mrs. Newsom.”
“I understand that,” Phyllis said.
She also understood that there was no way she was going to allow Eve to be convicted for a murder she didn’t commit.
No way in the world.
Chapter 12
P hyllis didn’t sleep well, and according to Carolyn and Sam the next morning, neither did they. So they were all up early, dressed and ready to go as soon as Juliette Yorke called with the information about Eve’s bail hearing.
Sam was the only one who had much of an appetite. He fixed his own breakfast, heating up a bowl of oatmeal with bananas cut up in it while Phyllis and Carolyn just drank coffee and nibbled on toast.
They all jumped a little when the phone rang at eight forty-five. Phyllis was the closest, so she answered it.
“The bail hearing is at nine o’clock,” Juliette said. “I know this isn’t much notice, but I just got off the phone with the court clerk myself.”
“Don’t worry,” Phyllis said. “We’ll be there.”
By the time she hung up, Sam and Carolyn were both on their
“I’ve never tried to show up anybody,” Phyllis said.
Juliette held up her hands and said, “We’re getting off the track here. Mrs. Porter told me again that she didn’t kill her husband, and I believe her. Now, don’t take this the wrong way, but what have the three of you been doing all day?”
Carolyn’s eyes widened. “Oh . . . my . . . God. Now you’re asking
us
for our alibis?”
“You can’t be serious,” Phyllis said to Juliette.
“I’m just trying to nail down all the facts I possibly can,” Juliette explained. “I’ll be asking the same questions of everyone who has any connection to the case.”
“Well . . .” Phyllis shrugged. “I guess that sounds reasonable.”
Carolyn’s “Hmmph!” made it clear that she wasn’t going to go that far.
“I’ve been right here in the house all day,” Sam said. “Well, either in the house or out in the garage. And I’m pretty doggone sure that Phyllis and Carolyn have been, too.”
“That’s right,” Carolyn said. “We haven’t gone anywhere. We’re each other’s alibis.”
Juliette looked at Phyllis. “Mrs. Newsom? Is that true?”
Phyllis nodded and said, “It certainly is. I don’t suppose any of us can actually prove that we’ve been here without relying on the testimony of the other two, but that’s what happened.”
“That’s good enough for me,” Juliette said, “and I think it would be for any reasonable person, too. We can move on.”
“What should we do about the bail hearin’?” Sam asked.
“I’ll call you in the morning as soon as I find out when it will be. I’d be ready to come down to the courthouse right away, if I were you.”
“We will be,” Phyllis promised.
“That’s all any of us can do tonight,” Juliette went on as she stood up. “But if you think of anything that might be helpful, anything you’ve seen or heard that might indicate someone else had a reason to want Roy Porter dead, please call me. You’ve got my cell phone number.”
“Isn’t it obvious that someone else wanted Roy dead?” Carolyn asked. “Someone killed him, and we know Eve didn’t.”
“But you don’t have a defense except for creating reasonable doubt, do you?” Phyllis said to Juliette. “You have to point the finger of suspicion at someone else.”
Juliette’s voice and expression were grim as she said, “Without an alibi and with Eve’s fingerprints on the murder weapon, a weapon that a number of people can identify as belonging to her, we’re not going to prevail on the merits of the evidence. I’m sorry, but there’s no getting around that.”
Sam said, “What you mean is, you need to find the real killer.”
“Well, that would be nice, but I’d settle for some big, fat reasonable doubt in the minds of some of the jurors.” Juliette looked at Phyllis. “So I’m definitely not saying that you need to conduct your own investigation, Mrs. Newsom.”
“I understand that,” Phyllis said.
She also understood that there was no way she was going to allow Eve to be convicted for a murder she didn’t commit.
No way in the world.
Chapter 12
P hyllis didn’t sleep well, and according to Carolyn and Sam the next morning, neither did they. So they were all up early, dressed and ready to go as soon as Juliette Yorke called with the information about Eve’s bail hearing.
Sam was the only one who had much of an appetite. He fixed his own breakfast, heating up a bowl of oatmeal with bananas cut up in it while Phyllis and Carolyn just drank coffee and nibbled on toast.
They all jumped a little when the phone rang at eight forty-five. Phyllis was the closest, so she answered it.
“The bail hearing is at nine o’clock,” Juliette said. “I know this isn’t much notice, but I just got off the phone with the court clerk myself.”
“Don’t worry,” Phyllis said. “We’ll be there.”
By the time she hung up, Sam and Carolyn were both on their
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